Democratic Challenges, Democratic Choices

Abstract

Most democratic citizens today are distrustful of politicians, political parties, and political institutions. Where once democracies expected an allegiant public, citizens now question the very pillars of representative democracy. This book documents the erosion of political support in virtually all advanced industrial democracies. Assembling a large array of cross-national public opinion data, this book traces the current challenges to democracy primary to changing citizen values and rising expectations. These dissatisfied democrats are concentrated among the young, the better educated, and the politically sophisticated. At the same time, the evidence debunks claims that such trends are a function of scandals, poor performance, and other government failures. Changing public opinion is born from the successful social modernization of these nations. A creedal passion for democracy is sweeping across the Western democracies, and people now expect more of their governments. This book concludes by examining the consequences of these changing images of government. The book finds that these expectations are making governing more difficult, but also fuelling demands for political reform. The choices that democracies may in response to these challenges lead to a further expansion of the democratic process and a new relationship between citizens and their government.